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Chapter 17
Supercomputers and
Supercomputing
Jeffrey Scott Cook
Arkansas State University, USA
AbstrAct
What is a Supercomputer? A Supercomputer is defined as the fastest type of computer used for specialized
applications that require a massive number of mathematical calculations. The term “supercomputer”
was coined in 1929 by the New York World, referring to tabulators manufactured by IBM. To modern
computer users, these tabulators would probably appear awkward, slow, and cumbersome to use, but at the
time, they represented the cutting edge of technology. This continues to be true of supercomputers today,
which harness immense processing power so that they are incredibly fast, sophisticated, and powerful.
INtrODUctION
Design
The primary use for supercomputers is in scientific
computing, which requires high-powered computers to perform complex calculations. Scientific
organizations boast supercomputers the size of
rooms for the purpose of performing calculations,
rendering complex formulas, and performing
other tasks which require a formidable amount
of computer power.
Supercomputers tradionally gained their speed
over conventional computers through the use of
innovative designs that allow them to perform
many tasks in parallel, as well as complex detail
engineering. They tend to be specialized for
certain types of computation, usually numerical
calculations, and perform poorly at more general
computing tasks. Their memory hierarchy is very
carefully designed to ensure the processor is kept
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-102-7.ch017
Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Supercomputers and Supercomputing
fed with data and instructions at all times—in
fact, much of the performance difference between
slower computers and supercomputers is due to
the memory hierarchy design and componentry.
Their I/O systems tend to be designed to support
high bandwidth, with latency less of an issue,
because supercomputers are not used for transaction processing.
supercomputer challenges
and technologies
•
•
•
A supercomputer generates heat and must
be cooled. Cooling most supercomputers is
a major High Voltage Alternating Current
problem.
Information cannot move faster than the
speed of light between two parts of a supercomputer. For this reason, a supercomputer that is many meters across must have
latencies between its components measured at least in the tens of nanoseconds.
Seymour Cray’s Cray supercomputer designs attempted to keep cable runs as short
as possible for this reason.
Supercomputers consume and produce
massive amounts of data in a very short
period of time. Much work is needed to
ensure that this information can be transferred quickly and stored/retrieved correctly. Technologies developed for supercomputers include:
◦
Vector processing
◦
Liquid cooling
◦
NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory
Access)
◦
Striped disks (the first instance of what
was later called RAID, Redundant
Array of Independent Disks)
◦
Parallel file systems
In many cases, a supercomputer is custom-assembled, utilizing elements from a range of computer
manufacturers and tailored for its intended use.
Most supercomputers run on a Linux® or Unix®
operating system, as these operating systems are
extremely flexible, stable, and efficient.
Supercomputers typically have multiple processors and a variety of other technological tricks
to ensure that they run smoothly. One of the biggest concerns with running a supercomputer is
cooling. As one might imagine, supercomputers
get extremely hot as they run, requiring complex
cooling systems to ensure that no part of the
computer fails. Many of these cooling systems
take advantage of liquid gases, which can get
extremely cold. Danish company Dynamics has
invented the coolest (in both senses) CPU cooler
ever. It achieves this not with boring old moving
air, or even dull H2O. No, the LM10 uses liquid
metal: Think T1000 in your PC. Danamics claims
that the cooler is more efficient than just pumping
water over the components. (Danamics Technology, 2010) Unfortunately, the site only mentions
“liquid metal” and not any specific kind of metal.
Chemistry tells us that there are five metallic
elements which are liquid at room temperature:
Rubidium (melting point 39 °C, 102 °F)
Francium (27 °C, 81 °F)
Mercury (−39 °C, −38 °F)
Caesium (28 °C, 83 °F)
Gallium (30 °C, 86 °F)
For cooling purposes, it looks like mercury
would be best suited as it can get colder without
solidifying. (Danamics Technology, 2010). Can
anybody tell us if liquid metal is both a better
conductor of heat and also more able to suck up
and store that heat?
The actual pump mechanism is interesting,
too. Instead of propellers or impellers, the metal
is moved by electromagnetic induction. Danamics
Corporation claims, again without details, that
its “patent pending multi-string electromagnetic
pump” will use a lot less power than conventional
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